The Kraken Legacy, Since July 2011
Kraken was co-founded in July 2011 by Jesse Powell — a visionary entrepreneur who recognised early that the world needed a trustworthy, secure, and professional cryptocurrency exchange. In the early days of Bitcoin, trust was scarce and exchanges were routinely hacked or mismanaged. Kraken was built to change that.
From its very first days, Kraken set itself apart through rigorous security practices, transparent operations, and a commitment to regulatory compliance. The exchange was among the first to pass a cryptographically verifiable proof-of-reserves audit, setting the industry standard for accountability.
OldKraken was developed alongside Kraken.com by the same founding team as a dedicated sister platform — offering the same trusted infrastructure, the same security architecture, and the same founding principles, but tailored to a more personal and focused trading experience for our community.
Today, OldKraken serves clients across 190+ countries, with a combined trading volume exceeding $400 billion across the Kraken family of exchanges. We remain committed to the same values Jesse Powell instilled from day one: security, transparency, and trust.
Kraken co-founded by Jesse Powell in San Francisco. OldKraken developed in parallel as a sister platform with the same founding team and infrastructure.
Kraken becomes one of the first exchanges to complete a cryptographically verifiable proof-of-reserves audit, a standard OldKraken also upholds.
Registered as a Money Services Business with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Full AML/KYC compliance framework established.
Kraken receives the first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) bank charter granted to a crypto company in Wyoming — a milestone shared by the entire Kraken family.
OldKraken expands to 190+ countries, serving 10M+ clients with 200+ supported cryptocurrencies and institutional-grade security infrastructure.